Tag: love

Homeward Once More

Photograph © 2020 Peggy Kornegger
After two and a half years in Florida, my partner Anne and I are moving back to Massachusetts. It is a decision of the heart. We are choosing to be closer to family and old friends and to remembered places that fill us with great love and appreciation. We are returning home. A few weeks ago, as I was on hold while buying our airline tickets to Boston, Simon and Garfunkel’s song “Homeward Bound” began playing in my ear. The synchronicity was unmistakable. I burst into tears.

Those tears held all my feelings of the last two years, as well as the years prior to that. Life is always a mix of joy and sadness, whether you are arriving or leaving. Within each is the seed of the other. And so it is now. I will miss the beauty of the natural world in Southwest Florida and the friendships I have made here, but I will also be filled with happiness at seeing lifelong friends and family members again, as well as beloved nature sanctuaries in New England. Of all the places I have lived in the U.S.—Midwest, South, East and West coasts—Massachusetts feels most like home to me. Part of it is the quality and length of the relationships with people: shared experiences, shared affection. But it is also a deep connection to the earth and nature. I spent countless hours walking, gardening, and bird-watching there. Often the birds would come to sing to me as I planted flowers in my garden—the best of all possible worlds. It is those kinds of connections—hands in the soil, heart open to the world’s wonders—that make a place feel like home.

There are many kinds of homes, of course: The home where I grew up, in the countryside of rural Illinois. The years of excited exploration and awakening in California. The home that Anne and I share, no matter where we are, because of the love that weaves our lives together. And the home within me where Spirit rests in my soul. This latter home is the one that connects me to the Home beyond this lifetime, where we all return eventually. Who is to say which home is best, or more deeply experienced? Each has its place in my lifetime, and each is treasured. In the end, all these homes come together in my heart and become one. When I meditate, I drop into that sacred place, my inner sanctuary, which includes every feeling of home I have ever experienced. With one single breath, I am home.

This is the heart feeling that arises when I hear an old song that reminds me of familiar places and people: “Homeward Bound.” I am always moving toward that center of love that carries me so beautifully through life. In the course of our lives, we circle around to return to where we began, no matter where we have lived or traveled. We come home to ourselves. It is in the circle and the return that I feel peace and profound gratitude for every moment fully lived, every person deeply loved, and every experience completely embraced. My heart expands to encompass all of life as a blessing, as home.

The Disappearance of “I”

Photograph © 2020 Peggy Kornegger
What would my life be like without me? Well, for one thing, it wouldn’t be “my life.” It would just be life—being, expanding, evolving. Exactly what it is without the filter I apply to it with “my.” As I continue along the path my soul has chosen for this lifetime, I see more clearly the limitations of language. “My” is a convenience for conversation, but the possessiveness we feel about so much in life is reinforced by that simple two-letter designation. In fact, nothing is mine. Even my soul is not really mine, nor is God. There is a limitless universal Spirit that we are one with, beyond description or possession. Caught up in “me,” “I,” and “mine,” our vision is restricted, dead-ended. Many times, our identity is so busy defending itself and its viewpoint that we can’t see the beauty and wonder around us or the love in the hearts of those closest to us. We lose friendships in arguments and misunderstandings.

Humanity seems to endlessly struggle to come to a peaceful resolution of conflicts everywhere in the world, especially now. Perhaps the greatest wisdom is that peace can only be found within, which is where it begins. Without inner peace, world peace is unreachable. In my own life, I am most at peace when “I” disappears. That occurs in stillness, in Nature, in empty spaces with no busyness. A global pandemic has provided us with those opportunities, if we recognize and explore them. Try living life without the distraction of possessive labels and perceptions. Walk through your day as if you had no ego, seeing everything without pronouns, maybe even without nouns. Empty of self. In peace.

The whole world is born in emptiness. From formlessness: form. The infinite potential of Source energy created a visible universe within which we find our way back to our beginnings. Every part of the material world is a form of living light that fills our human experience with richness and radiance. We too are light, and we are now awakening to that awareness. Many people discover a connection to their own inner light when they face the disappearance of the familiar and predictable in life, something we are now seeing on our planet. Within that opening, the soul’s presence is often revealed, and the self begins to fade.

When “I” disappears, there is only light, the light of Universal Soul that infuses our lives. That is our Home. Is it possible for us to experience each moment of our lives as that light? To see the light of Home everywhere and in everyone? I believe it is. In the past few months as so much has fallen away in my life, I have known moments of peaceful soul presence that flood my entire consciousness, becoming more frequent and lasting longer. I am not alone in this; it is a collective deepening and expansion. Soon we will meet one another as light beings (the truth of who we are) in all parts of our lives. This is our destiny, we divine/human souls on an evolving blue planet slowly spinning in the cosmos. When “I” and “my” fade into the background, peace arises, love arises. And we are Home, together, as one.

Caretakers of Consciousness

Photograph © 2020 Peggy Kornegger
We have a responsibility, those of us born on Earth at this key transitional moment in the planet’s history. A powerful and sacred responsibility. And that is to hold the dream of a harmonious world and a loving human species in our hearts at all times and to act accordingly: with love, with kindness. To keep our minds clear of fearful thought forms and influences, which are becoming more and more prevalent and strident now. Conspiracy theories of all kinds are beginning to dominate social media, and hatred of “other” is growing. Divisiveness is encroaching on compassion in the human experience. When we separate off into smaller and smaller groups, suspicious of one another, we are falling further and further away from our purpose in being here.

We human souls who incarnated with a vision of a peaceful and loving planet are repeatedly called to turn away from the distraction of negative perceptions and divisive viewpoints and hold the course of positivity. Separated, we are easily controlled and kept trapped in boxes that don’t allow us to fully flower into our unique expressions. When we come together to celebrate our diversity, harmony naturally unfolds, and the human species begins to come back into balance. This is the destiny we planned for ourselves before we were born. Our souls remember this clearly; it’s only our personalities that get caught up in polarities and judgments.

It’s time to shake off the negativity and take full responsibility for aligning with our soul’s positive vision. How we each see the world affects those around us; our energy vibrates outward and creates either love or fear. When we open our hearts with love and live our lives that way, the collective unconscious is shifted and uplifted. We truly are the caretakers of consciousness. What we hold within our awareness moment to moment is the sun that we shine into our lives. If we allow that sun to be overtaken by clouds, then that is felt by everyone we have any contact with. To be a caretaker is to live with compassion and kindness. When you care for your own consciousness, you are feeding it love and peace, hope and joy; your consciousness in turn feeds others.

Yesterday morning, as I walked along a nature trail, I stopped next to a small lake and watched the sun rising behind a tall pine tree, which was perfectly reflected in the water. As I stood there in the stillness, I noticed a concentric circle of ripples near the shore, possibly coming from the movement of an insect or small fish. Widening my gaze, I saw there were dozens of these concentric ripple circles in the lake, forming a web of motion across the water in the morning sunlight. I knew I was being shown a visual representation of our human/divine grid here on Earth as we radiate light, love, and peace to the greater collective, fed by the luminosity of the Central Sun. I had tears in my eyes as I slowly walked on.

This is our role, our sacred trust in this lifetime, we caretakers of consciousness. To hold the light, to be the light, and to amplify the light of love wherever we are and whomever we’re with. It is the energy from which our entire universe is born, from which we are born. As we fully awaken to that awareness and share it with others, the entire planet also begins to awaken and shine golden light outward in concentric circles across the cosmos. This is the hidden meaning in all the chaos we see around us now; it is the birth pains of a radiant new consciousness based in harmony and love. As that Great Shift occurs and the old paradigm falls away, caretaking becomes the primary collective focus. We honor and protect our planet and all life in every dimension because we can now see clearly how we are all connected, always, through a light grid of limitless love and compassion.

Are We Here Yet?

Photograph © 2020 Peggy Kornegger
Like small children, those of us on a spiritual path sometimes want to tug on the sleeve of those walking nearby and ask, “Are we there yet? Are we any closer to enlightenment?” Perhaps the question should be rephrased: “Are we here yet?” Because as long as we see enlightenment as a goal and oneness with God as a destination, we will be forever on the path. “There” seems to imply an ending, the achievement of an intention, the reaching of a final destination, whereas “here” is more about the present moment, right before us. “Be here now,” Ram Dass wrote. In truth, we are always living in the “here” of eternity, an infinite present in which time does not exist. The problem is we can’t recognize it because our vision is blocked by visions of “there.”

Time to take off those future-colored glasses and look around without any questions, aspirations, or parameters. Where we are now is full of light and God, even during a pandemic and social/political unrest. World events are throwing us all back into the present moment repeatedly. We want to plan our lives and map out future events to create certainty in the midst of seeming chaos. Yet this is a time of no certainty, and the chaos we perceive is actually dynamic change in motion. The illusion of permanence that many of us have subscribed to for so long is being overturned by continually shifting circumstances. We keep trying to bring back what we once knew as normal life: social gatherings with friends, travel, school openings, regular jobs, elections. The trouble is none of that is playing out in the same way, even when we try to force the issue. Nothing is the same.

Every day we are pointed to the present moment as the only workable way to live, as the greater truth of our lives. Perhaps our collective enlightenment is coming to us through the back door. Awareness doesn’t always arise from long years of practice and devotion. Sometimes it appears unexpectedly in the middle of sudden out-of-control life events. In this unprecedented time in which the world as we knew it has been turned upside down, individuals are learning to let go of the future in favor of the present. In casual conversation with socially distanced strangers on my morning walks or in line at the grocery store, I find that we often speak of living “one day at a time,” appreciating each moment. This also comes up in emails and social media posts from friends around the globe. It seems to be a worldwide experience: remembering the wisdom of Now.

Here is our reality, here is universal truth, here is enlightenment. Not in some distant future or at the end of an extended quest. Profound realization can catch you off-guard within crisis and uncertainty. We want life to run smoothly and predictably, but it never does. If you can return to living one precious breath at a time, one heartbeat at a time, you may find peace and connection when all else appears to be upheaval and loss. Life is many things, but at its heart it is love and oneness with others and with God. Expanding planetary awakening is showing us that now. As our gaze returns to the present, instead of the past or future, we recognize, for the first time, the light shining in all we see, including ourselves. Elusive enlightenment right here, right now, in the never-ending present moment.

 

Can You Keep On Loving?

Photograph © 2020 Peggy Kornegger

If you believe that love is humanity’s greatest hope and clearest path to a more compassionate inclusive planet, how are you feeling right now? When people seem to be hating one another with greater intensity. When rage and violent outbursts are becoming more common. Those who wear masks vs. those who refuse to; those who believe Black Lives Matter vs. those who deny it. Science vs. religion, Democrats vs. Republicans, health and safety vs. economic “recovery.” Individuals of different races, ages, nationalities, and belief systems fighting over statues and guns and face coverings. Where does unconditional love and kindness come into play in the midst of all this? Can we love our neighbor if our neighbor hates us?

These are questions humanity has considered for hundreds of years, but now they seem to be coming to a dramatic crescendo, particularly in the U.S., a country supposedly founded in the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet the reality is that those words applied to white male slave owners and no one else. The land of the free was in truth based in systemic racism that continues to this day. Racial hatred that continues to this day. A hatred so deep that rather than let go of it, people start inventing a world of “hoaxes” and “fake news.” Is it possible to live with love in the midst of so much conflict and intolerance?

Martin Luther King Jr. did. John Lewis and countless civil rights workers did. Gandhi, Peace Pilgrim, and so many others did. Every individual who lives a life of integrity and compassion while being demeaned daily lives love in the face of hate. African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Muslim Americans, Mexican Americans. Women of all races, the LGBTQ community, all immigrants. There are lives of courage everywhere among us, inspiring us with their commitment to life. To be alive is to love life so powerfully that you keep on living in spite of everything. At this time in history, we are being asked to stand strong and keep on loving in the same way. Against enormous odds.

There is a rift in the fabric of this country that won’t be easily sewn back together. A Presidential election can’t completely address the extent of it. Laws won’t fix it. Religion won’t mend it. Justice and restitution won’t entirely resolve it. It is a wound and a splitting so deep that it can only be healed at the level of the heart: Loving what is hated, on both sides of the divide. We have to love living in peace with one another more than anything else, including our own viewpoints. A seemingly impossible challenge.

Yet we chose this lifetime, this time of tumultuous change and upheaval. We came here to this troubled planet to heal the wounds of centuries, to bring peace to a world split by wars, internal and external. We came here to finally look in the eyes of our “enemy” and see a human soul, to choose compassion over power and empathy over antipathy. We came here to continue to love through every impossible challenge that shows up. Because at some point, some unknown and hard-to-imagine transformative moment, we will reach a tipping point, everything will shift, and humanity will know oneness again at last. That is the dream. Can you hang on until we reach it? Can you fulfill the promise you made before you were born: Can you keep on loving?